B The Year 1949 Y 1949 the initial adjustments following the close of the hostilities of World War II had largely been made. Few of the international problems that had arisen in the immediate postwar years, however, had been fully solved. Some were in one or another stage of solution, but those of most far-reaching influence were still in deadlock. An accumulation of problems deadlocked or still in the step-by-step process of settlement characterized this year even more than the preceding period. Pending problems rather than new ones were the subjects of concern. The question of China was the only new political problem to come before the forums of the United Nations during 1949. At the outset of the year, a threat to peace existed over Berlin. With the help of the United Nations the threat subsided in the spring. Although international confidence remained lacking, since no fundamental changes in East-West relations had occurred, the easing of the international tension gave hope that some change might be brought about to improve the world situation. But when efforts were made in the opening days of the General Assembly session in the autumn to remove the long-standing threats to the political independence and territorial integrity of Greece, a settlement of even this single problem was again thwarted by the Soviet Union. The session witnessed from the Soviet bloc the same vituperative propaganda and the same irresponsibility with which the United Nations had become familiar in preceding years. The year ended with a deepening of the tension which has marked international relations throughout the postwar period. It deepened for many reasons: The Soviet Union continued to withhold genuine cooperation toward reaching agreements on questions long in controversy. It continued to obstruct peace settlements for Austria and Germany and refused to agree on acceptable procedures for a peace settlement for Japan. It isolated itself from the rest of the world more and more and, late in the year, displayed the first signs of obstruction over the problem of China. Above all, the tension deepened because the Soviet Union failed to alter in any way, despite possession of the atomic weapon, its rejection of the plan supported by 49 nations for a truly effective control of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. It insisted instead upon a plan which none of these many nations believed would give effective security. There was also the disturbing fact that, after having proposed in 1948 the reduction by a third of the conventional armaments and armed forces of the permanent mem bers of the Security Council, the Soviet Union vetoed in 1949 the taking of a census of the actual amounts of conventional armaments and numbers of armed forces possessed by member states and the verification, by an international control organ, of the facts each nation reported. Performance as the Test The developments in the United Nations on the problems of international security during 1949 were of outstanding significance. Aside from substantial gains in peaceful settlement of disputes and in other fields of work as summarized below, which are integral parts of the security problem as a whole or are closely related to it, the most important gains were the clarifications reached on fundamental matters now at issue in world affairs. To all the nations represented in its membership other than Communist states, the developments repeatedly demonstrated that the great issues which have blocked world security in the postwar period are between the Soviet Union and the entire free world, not between two major powers alone. Furthermore, it became clear that the agreements being sought on these major difficulties are first steps, not final gains-that the settlement of any difficulty depends upon the actual performance of whatever agreement may be reached. Without dependable execution of the obligations and undertakings agreed upon, there would be no advance, only illusion and, on the most vital matters, even new dangers. No less significant was the widening appreciation among the great majority of the members that, in view of the attitude of the Soviet Union as evidenced by its propaganda and its action in regard to the rest of the world, only an increase of the moral, economic, and military strength of the free world and steadfastness and unity of purpose among the free nations could lead to dependable agreements and to the fulfillment of the principles and purposes of the Charter. Only strength would lead to this basic objective. And strength was more evident than formerly. The growing effects of the cooperative programs between the United States and other members-economic gains flowing from the European Recovery Program since 1948, political strength and military capacity promoted by the North Atlantic Treaty and the Military Assistance Act of 1949, and positive steps toward economic development and the strengthening of other parts of the world-all were favorably reflected in the increased firmness of the work of the United Nations during the year. In the forums of the United Nations during 1949 the great majority of the members gave repeated evidence of their common conviction. that international peace to be assured must be universal, and of their intention to persevere in their efforts to arrive at a more solid structure of world relationships than exists today. This was particularly apparent in the notable resolution of the General Assembly on "Essentials of Peace"1 endorsed unanimously by all 53 nations other than the Communist states. This resolution was not only a realistic declaration on the world's greatest problem but also a call to every member to cooperate to solve this problem. It laid the responsibility for world-wide tension directly at the door of those who had been disregarding the principles necessary for assurance of peace. It set forth the courses of action which postwar experience had demonstrated to be prerequisite for peace and repeated the basic standards of conduct which are the tests of the actual intentions and desires of nations in their relations with each other. The United Nations faced the causes of world tension in 1949 with frankness and thoroughness. Comparable candor has but rarely been manifested in the long history of mankind's efforts to grapple with the problem of establishing peace securely. This realism did not lead to extremes of either pessimism or optimistic hope. Instead it led to measured judgments on the causes of the tension and to clearer realization of the actions required to achieve at least satisfactory working relations between the Soviet Union and the rest of the world. Though there was unremitting search for formulas on which agreement of views might be reached on the several questions at issue, there was, above all, recognition that good faith toward the principles of peace as shown in conduct rather than just in words is the only reliable foundation of genuine confidence and peaceful progress. Thus, the United Nations, in its efforts to deal with these. questions as practically and as rapidly as the ever-present process of change in human affairs permits, seeks to avoid deceptions of any kind and at the same time to explore every possibility for the attainment of the objectives of the Charter. In the presence of the deep division that has marked world relations generally in 1949, the gratifying fact sometimes has been obscured that international cooperation is progressively developing among most of the world's peoples and governments. This has been visible in most of the fields of United Nations activities and is the solid floor for the building of the better world order which mankind is seeking. There are current controversies and disputes among this vast number of friendly nations, to be sure, but they are among nations widely agreed on fundamentals, nations which are usually able to work together on other matters. This growing cooperation among most of the members made possible the effective work accomplished by the United Nations during the year. 1U.N. doc. A1167, Resolution 290 IV. 879514°-50- -2 |