E Ml B A R G Q

F O R  T H E  PR E S S Released in Canberra and New YorkÂ»  Tot toÂ· be cabled, published or  uroadcast before 1.15 a. m. AET  i'riday, 4th October, 1963 )s

DEPARTMENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS,

CANBERRA.

PR 111

4th October, 1963*

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Statement during the General Debate in the Plenary Session  by the Minister for External Affairs and Leader of the  *ÃÂ¤ÃÂ±ÃÂ8ÃÂÃÂÃÂ1ÃÂ:ÃÂªÃÂ§^ the Hon. Sir Garfield' Barwick.

"delivered at"'11 a.m. (New York Time) on 3rd "October, "  ’  '  1 9 H 7  '  ' Ã¢ÂÂ   -

M r . .President,

Allow me on behalf of the Australian Delegation to

congratulate you upon your election as President of this Assembly*

This is a most distinguished office, but by no means an easy

one, My Government and my Delegation know that you will perform

your manifold and often difficult duties with wisdom, fairness

and despatch. Your record as a man willing to make personal

sacrifices for the sake of principle, your previous Presidency

of the Security Council, your service generally in the United

Nations as Venezuela’s representative, and yopr country’s record

of active support for this Organisation, all combine to ensure

this result.

The Moscow Treaty of 5th August banning nuclear weapons

tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water has now

been signed by over one hundred countries - Australia one of

the very first, the final processes of ratification have begun

with the recent approval of the Treaty by the United States

Senate and by the Soviet Presidium.

I shall not presume on your time, Mr. President, by

endorsing in detail what others before me have already said

about the advantages of the Treaty. Its limiting effect on

the nuclear arms race, its restraining effect on those who

would become nuclear powers, its wholly beneficial effect, felt

by nuclear and non-nuclear powers alike, in putting a stop to

the pollution of our atmosphere, and the new possibilities in

the negotiation of disarmament which it has opened up*

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Australia is at one with all of those nations which

welcome the Treaty for the advantages it brings and for the

opportunities which it appears to present. At the same time,

we must he clearly conscious of what the Treaty does not do.

It does not reduce existing capabilities for waging nuclear war.

Nor does it reduce the dangers and horror of conventional war -

and in that connection, lest we have an unbalanced view, let us

remind ourselves that, in the space of fourteen hours during

the last war, in one blow from conventional weapons, 135,000

people died, twice the number of people killed by the first

atomic bomb, and sixteen hundred acres of a great city were desÂ­

troyed, Finally, the Treaty does not directly engage the central

problems of war itself or of the ambitions, the tensions and the

fears which have so often led to war.

It is, however, true that tension between the two

greatest powers has been reduced by the Treaty. As evidence

we have the statements made in this very hall by President

Kennedy and by Mr. Gromyko in the first week of this Session,

and more recently Lord Home has added his assessment. On the

other hand there is still much that divides them, notably their

disagreement about the proper meaning to be given to the terms

"peaceful co-existence" and "peaceful co-operation". So long

as peaceful co-existence is interpreted and applied by one side

as essentially involving a continuation of the cold war, at

least so long will the causes of tension persist. This is not

a happy prospect. Yet I do hope that Lord Home’s plea that

the nations use the opportunity of the moment will bear the

fruit he and all men of goodwill desire.

But, and I find this most disquieting, there is the

continuing - indeed darkening - shadow cast over the whole

world, East and West alike, by a country which rejects even the

Soviet concept of peaceful co-existence as "erroneous" and which,

as its leader Mao Tse-Tung has made ominously clear, can contemÂ­

plate with apparent equanimity the destruction of half the world.

The appalling fact is that Communist China continues

to affirm its conviction in the inevitability of war. As an

earnest of this conviction we have been forced within the last

year to witness open aggression against India, a country which

counted itself an active friend of Communist China and was

currently engaged in discussion with it.

And, as the Foreign Minister of Thailand so rightly

reminded us last week, South-East Asia has continued to be

racked by subversion and covert aggression, notably in Laos and

\ \ Â·.

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South Vietnam. Both of these activities draw inspiration and

support from Peking. To all of this Communist China has now

added its open rejection, of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and its

reaffirmation of its intention to establish a nuclear capacity

of its own.

Let none think that Communist China’s absence from

this Organisation was a bar to its adherence to the Treaty.

That instrument was deliberately so drafted as to permit and

indeed encourage countries whose international status or accepts

ability was in dispute to join in its obligations, Communist

China could have (io,n,e so, had it had the necessary goodwill toÂ­

wards its fellows.

It is of the greatest concern to Australia that this

most acute and unabated), threat of major war emanates from, and

is most directly focussed on, the Asian region, where Australia

is geographically placed and with whose future its destinies are

inevitably and permanently linked.

A number of specific items affecting the region of

Asia - and partipularly that of South-East Asia with which

Australia is most directly concerned - has been placed on the

Agenda of this Assembly and I shall not take up the time of this

plenary Session by anticipating the comments which the Australian

Delegation will offer on each of them. I should, however, take

this opportunity to refer briefly to two matters of particular

importance.

The first of these is the United Nations Conference on

Trade and Development. Although the aims of this Conference

are world-wide in their scope, its partipular implications for

the regions of South qnd South-East Asia are of greatest concern

to Australia. Like the countries of these regions we live

predominantly as a producer of agricultural products and of

raw materials and feel with them the downturn and insecurity

of world prices Ojf these commodities.

From the very outset Australia has warmly welcomed the

initiative taken by t^is Organisation anÂ£ it has given, and will

continue to give, its fullest support to the aims of the ConferÂ­

ence. We have demonstrated in a practical way our common conÂ­

cern with our Asian neighbours not only by our work in the

Conference but also by our recent entry into full regional

membership of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East.

There is an urgent need for a sustained co-operative

effort to raise living standards throughout the region, as

indee.d elsewhere in the world where they lag r- not only for

reasons of general humanity hut also because higher living

standard's will lead towards stability and security. Indeed,

political independence need^ underpinning by economic satisfactions.

Furthermore, a general rise in economic levels throughout the

region will not only benefit the developing nations but also,

through, the general expansion of trade, will promote the pros.-!

perity of ttye region as a whole. There is, of course, still ^n

important role ^or economic aid, a field in which Australia is

playing its. part. .

.  .  But aid is only .a palliative and not a solution. .

Although in an emergency there is a vital need for blood trans.-

.fusions, no healthy life can be sustained indefinitely by

transfusions alone. True economic, growth and health, permanent

and self regenerating, must in the final resort depend on a sound

basis of trade and development and this in turn, in the case of

developing countries, depends on adequate prices for commodities.

Australia will continue with its fellow-members of this OrganisatÂ­

ion to seek solutions for this difficult and so far intractable

problem, .  ;

Â· ,  - The. necond .matter which,,.! ,j/islpvto.,.nnenti.on. is,,,a. recent .  . .

development of great importance in the region of South-East .

Asia - a development which has already attracted attention in

Ihis debate. 1 refer to the establishment of the Federation '

of Malaysia, which the Australian Delegation is most happy to

welcome to thiq Assembly, through its distinguished Delegation,

as the constitutional successor to Malaya.

During the last few years, as the decolonization

process has approached its final stages in South-East Asia,

Australia has had a close neighbourly interest in the problem

Of how the remaining colonial territories Of Singapore, Sabah

and Sarawak would attain their independence. Clearly, none of

them was strong enough economically^ politically, or even in

point of mere; numbers, to stand on its own feet as a separate

and independent nation.

.  My Government watched the painstaking efforts made over

a period of many months tq ascertain the views of the peoples

Ã¢ÂÂ of these territories on the concept of a wider Federation

launched by the Malayan Prime Minister in May, 1961. I shall

not take time to recite the extensive processes of ascertainment

which were followed. It is sufficient for me to say that it

became clear to my Government that the established criteria for

'self-determination were fully satisfied. It was on this basis

that the Australian Government gave its public support to the

concept Of Malaysia.

That the peoples of' the two Borneo Territories should

have chosen to gain and exercise their independence as constituent

members of a Federation with Malaya and Singapore was indeed

natural. They had shared for many years a common legal and

administrative tradition, had employed for both official and

other purposes a common, language, and bad a common monetary system.

Furthermore, that they should see advantage in joining a FederatÂ­

ion which had already proved itself to be. a stable multi-racial

nation with a sound and developing economy was not surprisingr

Australia "believes that the record of tr e original Federation

of Malaya augurs well for the success Â· :  f ltd ay si a which can

"become a stabilising inf ./.no no a in the South-East Asian region and

make a significant contribution Â·Â·c its peace anti, security.

When Indonesia and the Philippines early this year

expressed their misgivings about the extension of the "Federation,

Australia encouraged a meeting cf the three Governments as a means

of removing misunderstandings and of enabling Malaysia to be

created with the goodwill cf its neighbour^ In the result the

three Governments expressed an agreed basis on which Indonesia

and the Philippines would welcome the new nation. That basis,

namely a favourable report "by the Seeretary-General, eventuated.

But unfortunately, Malaysia has not in tact been spared the

hostility of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢The clear and unambiguous report of the Secretary-

General confirms that, in entering Malaysia, the inhabitants of

the territories had exercised self-determination in conformity

with the resolutions of' this Assembly. I am sure that all

members of this Organisation should accept this conclusion and

welcome a decolonization which accords with the principl.es of

the Charter. I deeply regret that Indonesia and the Philippines,

members of this Organisation, have so far refused to accept the

enlarged Federation. I hope that they will yet do so and

enter, bona fide, as Australia and so many other members of the

United Nations will do, into close and friendly co-operation

with Malaysia,

But I am bound to say that the course of the debate

here, as well as the recent events in Djakarta, fills me with .

misgiving. In his principal address the distinguished represenÂ­

tative of Indonesia advanced, as partial justification for his

country's refusal to aeqept the findings of the Secretary-

General and for its declared intention to confront and destroy

Malaysia, the form of the Federation as an alleged British

creature imposed upon unwilling participants. In his

subsequent speech in reply he advanced as a fresh justification

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the extended British-Malayan Defence Agreement of November, 1961.

But the role of Britain in welcoming and encouraging - "but most

carefully refraining from imposing - the concept of Malaysia,

as well as the terms of the extended Defence Agreement, which '

provides the security of Malaysia, had "both "been known for more

than a year and a half when, in Manila in July and August this

year, Indonesia set, as the sole precondition of its readiness

to welcome Malaysia, the satisfaction of the Secretary-General

as to the wishes of the people of the Borneo Territories.

I should add that my Government has recently made it

clear that, in the event of Malaysia or any of its constituent

states "being subjected in the future to armed invasion or subÂ­

versive activity, supported or directed or inspired from outside -

an event greatly to be deplored - we shall, in conformity with

the charter, to the best of our powers and by such means as shall

be agreed upon with the Government of Malaysia, add our military

assistance to the defence of Malaysia’s territorial integrity

and political independence. This support springs not only

from our long association with Malaya, but from our firm convictÂ­

ion that the..new nation, as the expression of..self-determination

and the attainment and exercise of independence through federatÂ­

ion, should be free to develop itself in peace.

It is only a short time since we were faced with another

decolonization problem in the same general area which generated

strong emotions and led to acute and dangerous local tensions.

I refer to the problem of West Irian. The report of the SecÂ­

retary-General as to the present position with regard to this

Territory will come up for discussion in the appropriate Committee.

Here I shall only say that Australia notes the steps already

taken, under the aegis of the Secretary-General, in carrying out

the Agreement on this Territory, and it looks forward to its

further performance through to the act of self-determination in

such a manner that this Assembly will be able to receive with

approval the reports of Indonesia and the Secretary-General that

the Agreement has been fully carried out.

Problems of decolonization arise in an acute form today

in AfricaÂ» The African questions which will occupy so prominent,

a place in the discussions of this Assembly are varied, but it

seems to me that they possess a common link, for the concern

of the United Nations is to help the peoples of Africa in their

.rapid evolution to achieve independent, firmly based and harmonious

societies in which no grqup shall have exclusive privileges,

but in which each shall be able to make its contribution, and in

which there shall be genuine equality among all citizens, withÂ­

out racial barriers or racial conflict. That I believe is the

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broad aim of this Assembly,.

In the Congo, the problem is now one of national

stability. Australia has always fully supported the United

Nations effort there both by paying its share of the cost and in

other ways. The success of the United Nations in the Congo is

heartening both for the future of the Organisation and for

Africa. This effort must be brought to a successful conclusion,Â»

We welcome and support the proposals, now under discussion, which

are designed to find ways of meeting the costs of a temporary

prolongation of the United Nations military operation.

In the Portuguese Territories the chief immediate

problem is that of securing acceptance by the administering power

of the need for genuine self-determination and of rapid progress

towards it. Here I shall only say that Australia has made

direct efforts at the highest level to persuade Portugal of

the necessity for these things.

In the Portuguese Territories and in Southern Rhodesia -

but even more acutely in South Africa - the problem presents

itself of a minority, now enjoying effective power and a traditÂ­

ional position of privilege, which sees in the rise of indepenÂ­

dent states and in the emancipation of Africans elsewhere on the

continent a threat to its own position and future.

This creates a situation which could be dangerous if

it were to get out of hand. No-one, no matter what his race,

should contemplate, and I am sure few do contemplate, the actualÂ­

ity of open racial conflict in Africa. Even as a possibility it

is appalling. To speak of confrontation, one race by another,

might appear to simplify matters.  The two sides are easily

identified and all one would need to do would be to choose one’s

own and oppose the other. But to speak in this way is to

abdicate our reason in the face of the admittedly difficult and

complex problems of multi-racialism - problems to be solved with

untiring patience, if necessary, over a considerable period of

time.

The hateful doctrine of apartheid draws some of its

motivation from such a refusal to attempt the adjustments for

which multi-racialism inevitably calls. I am sure that the

representatives of the new African States will refuse to abandon

the hope of multi-racialism in Africa and will reject the ugly

distortion of a confrontation of races. The distinguished

representative pf Ghana and Uganda and Nigeria have already said

as much in their speeches here.

I am glad to note, too, the recent words of Mr. Kenyatta,

X

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the Prime Minister of Kenya - a country whose representatives we

shall shortly welcome among us - to the effect that the European

community in Kenya is necessary to the future of that country -

that in the new Kenya there would he a place for all its citizens*

These words and the spirit which underlies them are statesman-like

and it seems to me that assurances of this kind, hacked wherever

possible hy practical demonstrations, can do much to create and

maintain a climate of mutual trust between the various communities

j,n Central and Southern Africa. The creation of such a climate

is indispensable if racial friction is to be avoided and if the

benefits which all components of these societies can contribute

to them are to be obtained. The distinguished representatives

of Denmark and Sweden mentioned this aspect of the matter, and J

commend it, as they did, to the attention of the Assembly,, As .

Lord Home has so justly said in his address this week, "It is

the essence of democracy that majority should rule but that

minorities should be fully safeguarded".

These considerations lead me to add that in Africa’s

struggle to achieve the broad aims which I earlier described - :  /  genuine equality of all citizens in independent, firmly-based,

harmonious societies - there must be care and reflection in

the choice of means to attain those ends. Is there not a danger

that a policy of all-out pressure, whether in this Organisation

or outside it, may fail to produce the right results - that it

may lead not to yielding, but to ever more rigid entrenchment?

For example, I cannot believe that sanctions against

the Republic of South Africa or its suspension or expulsion from

this Organisation or from any of its agencies will cause the

Government of that country to change its racial policies. Such

courses are not persuasive but merely provocative of apposition,

An embattled society resists, at whatever cost, until brought

to the last extremity, by which time many of those whom the

pressures were designed to benefit will have been irretrievably

damaged in the conflict.

And in Southern Rhodesia, where the situation is still

in so many ways less rigid, may not such a policy put an end to

the prospects of conciliation and advance through mutual endeavour,

which I am convinced still exist there, and which I hope will be

vigorously pursued by all concerned?

I fully understand the sense of urgency which weighs

on the newly-independent nations of Africa in their search for

solutions to the remaining problems of their continent. No.-one

should be asked to accept a standstill^ and meaningful progress

must consistently be made. But is it not the main task to build

out of the existing elements in each state and territory stable ,~ id

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and harmonious societies? And is it not the hope that such

societies will endure for an infinity of time? It is in that

perspective that the pace of achievement should he measured.

Might not extreme pressure not merely overtax this Organisation

hut, hy entrenching tensions - and perhaps increasing their

significance - render the goal impossible?

This problem of orderly, planned decolonization - of

working with all prudent despatch towards self-determination nh-4

independence based on a solid political and economic foundation

and on a healthy concept of co-operation - is not a question oÂ£

merely theoretical copcern to Australia.

In the Trust Territory of New Guinea and the Australian

Territory of Papua there are two million people. In the dis-r

charge of her obligations to and for these people (in accordance

with the Charter, the Trusteeship Agreement, and with full awarp- ÃÂ Â·

ness of the expectations of this Assembly as expressed in

Resolution 1514 (XV)).Austral!a in no way differentiates between

Papua and the Trust Territories,,

This Assembly should be in no doubt regarding Austra^sVs

intentions and policies in Papua and New Guinea, They have b$,e^

repeatedly stated - and only last month were restated by the

Prime Minister of Australia in these terns :-

Ã¢ÂÂ   !!ln these Territories - v/e In rustrÂ«] ia have

accepted great vespcnsibili r;j.cs, responsibilities muci>

too great to be p a s s o f f on.:Â· shoulders iightheartedly

or ' : , . u  support c.:: pure theory,. ho have . 1  mmanse respond

svofii.ti.es if. these i or rib or let: and we propose, of

course, if discIffvge them, V.re look forward to the

time when, those Territories will be completely

politically and economically independent, where they

will-  be a living vital country, controlling their own

destiny".

Towards these ends Australia has endeavoured to ÃÂÃÂÃÂ¿ÃÂ¿ÃÂ^4

in the political field by process of constitutional change.

This process, based on careful and continuing preparation at

the fundamental levels of social, economic and political life,

has quickened in response to the developing situation in the

Territories. The most recent advance has seen the creation of

a common roll on the basis of which (and through the exercise pf

the principle of one man one vote, regardless of race, creed or

colour), the people of the Territory will shortly go to the polls

in elections for a House of Assembly in "which more than two-thirds

will be indigenous people. Ã¢ÂÂ

There is in these Territories co-opera; - . . loa u; ; . c.  mutual

ÃÂ

respect between the indigenous and non-indigenous people. AustÂ­

ralia has scrupulously guarded against the alienation of land

from indigenous ownership and has not only swept away inequalities

before the law but by statute has unambiguously made discriminatory

practices unlawful and punishable. As I.mentioned earlier,

political independence needs under-pinning by economic satisÂ­

factions. Accordingly, there is already planned development of

primary production, to which the country is now most suited and

in which the indigenous people have an ever-increasing share.

In addition, the Australian Government now has the assistance of

International Bank experts who are making a full economic survey

of the Territories to determine the lines which their future

economic development might take.

Similarly, social development is being conditioned by

carefully planned educational programmes, and here I should

mention particularly the investigations of a Commission on

Higher Education to determine'the development of a university

or of university-type institutions in New Guinea (of which some

potential component parts are already vigorously in being) and

as a basis for extensive further educational development.

In none, however, of the fields of its development

(political, social or economic) are Papua and New Guinea- yet able

to proceed independently of Australian help, The biggest single

item of the Territories’  revenue remains the annual grant of

aid from Australia which this year has been fixed at Â£25,000,000

(equivalent to US $55,750,000), which is an increase of about

25 per cent over last year’s figures.

This whole policy and programme are designed to place

in the hands of the people of the Territories adequate and modern

instruments for the expression and the realisation of their own

will and desires. The Australian Government recognises this

popular will as the only instrument which will ultimately deterÂ­

mine the form of New Guinea’s independence. The voice of the

people can be heard and.will be heard with increasing vigour

through their own elected Parliament which, as I have said, Ã¢ÂÂ

will itself be constituted of the voices of every individual

within the Territory on the basis of a common roll and universal

franchise.

Although the half dozen issues on which I have touched

are matters of outstanding concern to Australia and to many of

the nations represented here, they are in fact only a small

selection from the vast programme of urgent constructive work

with which this Organisation is faced. There is little dissent

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amongst us on the broad question of what needs to be done, howeyer

much we may differ at times as to the wisest and most effective

ways of achieving our objectives. By and large, also, we may

each of us acknowledge the general sincerity with which our

fellow members approach the solution of these problems - however

strongly we may disagree at times about forms and methods. In

the face of this vast array of tasks, however, we will need more

than awareness of the needs and sincerity in considering them

if our Organisation is to achieve effective and lasting results.

We regret that continuing major global tensions still

divert - and necessarily divert - into economically unproductive Â·

channels large resources of effort and treasure, some at least

of which might otherwise be added to those available for the

peaceful purposes of our World Organisation; 'cut there can

unfortunately be little immediate prospect of any significant .

rediversion of these resources.

In the meantime, however-, there is much which we can

and should do to improve the capacity of our Organ!sac:).on to .

carry out its tasks effectively. The massive accession of Â·

additional members to the United Nations, particularly during the

last ten years, and the resulting reflection or new major regionÂ»Â»

al interests have made it urgently necessary to revise the

Charter so as to accord more closely with modern needs and to

provide in the principal organs (especially the Ncenomic and

Social Council and the Security Council) for more adequate repÂ­

resentation of our new members, especially the nations of Africa,

An equally urgent task it to solve the question of thÂ§-

finances of our Organ!sation. However fully the United Nat Iona

may be developed to represent interests and views on a truly

world-wide basis, it must inevitably fail to achieve its obj^ct-r

ives so long as it continues to be crippled financially by a

section of its membership. In fact, as its membership continues

to grow and as it assumes ever-increasing and onerous tasks,

the problem of virtual financial bankruptcy becomes increasingly

acute. .  Ã¢ÂÂ

I should like to conclude with a brief mention of a

very valuable, and at the same time inexpensive, development in

the activities of the United Nations. 1 refer to the increasing

role of the Secretary-General, both personally and through his

appointed representatives, in visiting troubled areas of the wpjr^d,

in making objective investigations into situations ana. forming'

objective assessments of them, and in providing his good offices

to help the contending parties, and the United Nation.0 r.n a whole,

towards acceptable and just self. .nv;,s. -  lover .if Ã¢ÂÂ  :

Xhe last year alone we have ail had reason to beÂ· grateful for t. hi R rmi fit, l^nri fifffifit.ivfi. vSkrH nmflfiv. Whpn- as h Â« s  i-.rfi v ÃÂ.ÃÂ¿ÃÂ·

often, this Assembly is faced "by the contending parties with

quite irreconcilable accounts of a situation on which the gn,pnt

majority of us wou^Ld h^ve no opportunity of first-rhand knowledge*

the objective contribution which the Secretary-General ca,n

from his independent enquiries and assessments can prove inyÂ§irr

uable to all of us, One such instance is the case of Malaysia

to which I have referred. My Delegation ^ ÃÂ¿ ÃÂ³ ÃÂ  like to express

its warm appreciation of this development jLn the role of the

Secret ary-.General and to congratulate him on the results of

the efforts of himpelf and of his various representatives

during the past yea-p.

